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A Home-Based Business Online
Practical home business ideas, strategies
and resources for the work-from-home
entrepreneur
Issue 106 : October 29, 2001
Sent to 10,738 Opt-In Subscribers
Editor: Elena Fawkner
Publisher: Fawkner Publishing
http://www.ahbbo.com
Contact By Email
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IN THIS ISSUE
1. Welcome and Update from Elena
2. Home-Based Business Idea of the Week - Gourmet
Gift Baskets
3. Feature Article - Eggs, Baskets and Multiple Streams
of Income
4. Surveys and Trends
5. Motivational Tip for the Day - What Are Your Failure
Thoughts?
6. Free E-Book of the Week - Self-Publish at the Speed
of Thought
7. Advertise in AHBBO
8. Subscription Management
9. Caveat Emptor
10. Contact Information
1. Welcome and Update from Elena
Hello again and a warm welcome to all the new subscribers
who have joined us since the last issue.
This week's article is all about eggs, baskets and not putting
all of the former into one of the latter when it comes to making your
living -- online or off.
For those of you who haven't visited the AHBBO website
during the week, you may want to check out Project 21 -
an internet-based (e-)mail order business that's making
a lot of people a lot of bucks. This is something those of
you with existing lists especially may want to check out.
It's at http://www.ahbbo.com/project21/ .
As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this
week's issue.
Remember, this ezine is for YOU! If you have comments or
suggestions for topics you would like to see addressed, or
would just like to share your experiences with other
subscribers, I want to hear from you. Please send
comments, questions and stories to Contact By Email .
Need more income for your retirement years?
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2. Home-Based Business Idea of the Week - Gourmet
Gift Baskets
Here's a pleasant home-based business that will challenge
your creative as well as your managerial skills. It's a fun
business for those who have the flare for creating
appetizing gift packages.
A FUN PRODUCT
Gourmet gift baskets have become popular in recent years.
They are a collection of desirable items, and in such a
variety that they appeal to all. By determining the markets
you want to target and the type of baskets you want to
produce, you can set your income goals for as little or as
much as you like.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTS
From the very large and the very small, businesses have
needs for gift giving on a pretty constant basis. By
targeting corporate accounts, you protect yourself from
potential sales fluctuations common to what are generally
considered seasonal items. Businesses love gift baskets
because they are "safe" compared to other gifts like
chocolate (many people now carefully watch their fat
intake) or wine & spirits (many people don't drink). Of
course, other possible clients for your gift baskets include
associations, retail outlets, fund raisers, and individual
customers who purchase for themselves or as a gift.
CREATIVE DESIGNS
Gourmet gift baskets are fundamentally a few nice items
placed in a unique arrangement and presented to look
extravagant. Use your imagination and keep an eye for
unusual and appealing products. To keep unit price low,
inventory most commonly used items by purchasing direct
from the manufacturer or main distributor. Look for large
pretty items; they will give your product "size".
THEME MARKETING
Focus on a theme and build around it. From a corporate
perspective, create presentations that communicate the
corporate logo or marketing slogan.
Do not limit yourself by just using baskets as your main
vehicle. For example, a basket with an Italian theme can
use (as its basket) a large pasta bowl to hold a small
vinegar, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes and kitchen utensils.
Raffia or "grass" can be used to cushion the items, sealed
together with shrink wrap. Finish your basket with a bow
or creative ribbon, and you've got a product that can be
retailed for around $39. Your cost: as low as $12.
-----
There are many more ideas like this at the AHBBO Home Business
Ideas page at http://www.ahbbo.com/ideas.html with more being
added all the time.
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Visit http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/633324
3. Feature Article: Eggs, Baskets and Multiple Streams
of Income
© 2001 Elena Fawkner
One of the legacies of 9/11 is that that large sections
of the U.S. and world economy have taken a body blow.
Every day we hear of more and more companies who plan
to lay off large numbers of workers (or have already) as
they strive to reposition themselves to ride out what
the doomsayers predict will shortly become a full-blown
recession.
As much as you can intellectually sympathize with a
tactic that effectively sacrifices a few for the good of
the many (i.e., the ultimate survival of the business entity
and the jobs of all those left behind), if you're the one in
the firing line it's pretty cold comfort that others will be
more financially secure as a result of your sacrifice.
REBELLION AND VULNERABILITY
It's not unusual for people in such a situation to begin
to rebel against the idea of having their financial destiny
in someone else's hands. Quite right, too. The response
of many in this situation is to begin to think about
working for themselves, to be free of the tyranny of
being dependent on others for their financial survival.
Unfortunately, however, the failure rate of new small
businesses is high and they take time to get up and
running. So thinking about and actually starting a new
business AFTER you've lost your day job is too little,
too late.
For this reason, many people start their own business
part-time, while they're still working full-time. This
approach has several advantages, not least of which
is a financial cushion (i.e., your salary) during the time
you're building your business.
The goal of most such business owners is to eventually
become successful enough to allow them to quit their
day jobs and work on their own business full-time. Fair
enough.
As recent events have shown, however, no-one is
immune from financial vulnerability whether you be
employed in the full-time workforce, a struggling home-
based entrepreneur running your own small-scale travel
agency or anything in between.
SAFE CHOICES
So how do you know what to choose as your livelihood
to ensure that you will never again be subject to the
vagaries of the economy, to ensure that your financial
future is secure?
The cold hard truth is that since you don't have a crystal
ball, you simply don't. After all, who could possibly have
foreseen the events of 9/11 (other than the FBI and the
CIA)?
Whatever your job, career, business or investment
strategy, things can take a downturn. Does that mean
you have to take a downturn right along with them?
Well, if all your eggs are in that particular basket, it
does. But what if all your eggs are not in that basket
but only a few of them? Well then, you simply divert
the energy you were expending on the basket that's
gone south into the ones that are still headed north.
MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME
Multiple streams of income is the key. You've probably
heard of the concept in terms of running an online
business. It means don't just sell one product or service
from your website, sell several so that if one bombs,
your livelihood doesn't have to.
Well, you can apply the same approach to your life.
Who says your only choices are to work full-time in
paid employment, work full-time in your own business,
or work full-time in paid employment and part-time in
your own business?
Maybe the solution is to do EVERYTHING part-time.
Let's say you work full-time in paid employment and
you run an online business in your spare (part-)time.
Let's also say that your salary is low enough that, if
you just had enough time to devote to it, you're pretty
sure you could ramp up your online business to the
point that you were generating more profit from every
hour you devote to it than if you spent that same time
working in your paid job.
Now, some would decide that at that point they'd quit
their day job and just work on their business full-time.
That may be a good option. IF you can be sure that
your business is going to succeed over the longer term.
But it ignores the fact that you don't really know what's
around the corner and by giving up your day job you've
also just given up your financial cushion (your
"insurance" if you will).
And if you decide to do away with your business because
you figure if you devote your time and energy into working
even harder and longer hours for your employer you'll get
a promotion and more money, if you lose your job you're
screwed because you don't have the financial cushion of
your business as insurance.
THE "ONE PART-TIME PLUS ONE PART-TIME EQUALS
ONE FULL-TIME" SOLUTION
So what's the answer? Work both your job and
your business part-time so that, together, they add
up to full-time. If (and this is an important "if" if cash
flow is tight) the extra time you have to devote to your
business will result in a commensurately greater financial
return than would working the same hours in your job
(make sure you run the numbers to be sure this is the case
- if not, start a more profitable business!) this can be a
viable option. Even if it yields the same return (or maybe
even a little less) it may still be worth considering as sort
of an insurance policy against being laid off.
Likewise, an employer that's struggling in a soft economy
and facing having to lay staff off may well welcome the
option of converting you to a part-timer with the resultant
reduction in payroll and overheads.
Such a situation can be a win-win for all concerned. (And
if you're a parent of young children, I hardly need to point
out the lifestyle advantages and reduction in child care
costs.)
THINK PLURAL
So, if you're still looking for The Answer, your Big Break,
The One, STOP. Stop thinking in terms of "ones" and
start thinking in terms of multiples. Multiple part-time
ventures (and don't limit yourself to just one part-time
job and one part-time business, the best combination for
you may be two part-time jobs and one part-time business
- whatever works) which, when added together, bring in
just as much or more income than your J.O.B. (Just Over
Broke) and minimize your risk from the vagaries of forces
and events over which you have no control.
Just as investment advisers warn investors not to place
all their eggs in one basket, so too you should avoid
relying on just one golden goose. Get a flock of 'em!
------
** Reprinting of this article is welcome! **
This article may be freely reproduced provided that: (1) you
include the following resource box; and (2) you only mail to a
100% opt-in list.
Here's the resource box to use if reprinting this article:
------
Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ...
practical home business ideas for the work-from-home
entrepreneur. http://www.ahbbo.com
Dear Mom...This is a letter from my heart to yours.
I'm a mom with three kids. I know what it feels like to
have to work outside the home and feel torn between
your need to work and your need to be with your kids.
Now I've found a way to be able to work and be there
for them. I want you to be able to find it, too. Please
read this now.
http://www.adminder.com/c.cgi?PDIMarketing&ATC19
4. Surveys and Trends
© 2001 Ryanna's Hope
WHICH WAY ARE THE MALLS AND STORES HEADED THIS
HOLIDAY?
The 2001 "Holiday Readiness Report" from Vividence finds
that 71% of US online consumers are concerned about the
economy, in light of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the
country, and 40% plan to shop less is stores this holiday
season. In fact, 29% say they will shop more online this
holiday season because they are concerned about store
safety.
HANDS DOWN BETWEEN SPAM AND OPT-IN EMAIL!
According to a September 2001 report from IMT Strategies,
77% of e-mail users delete unsolicited commercial e-mail
(UCE) -- more commonly known as spam -- without reading
it. However, 48% of those users are curious to read
permission e-mail.
SELLING HEALTH RELATED ITEMS?
Almost one-half of online surfers looking for health-care
information find it is too difficult to comprehend. A study
published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent
Medicine found that in 89 documents of pediatric care,
most were written between the 10th or 12th grade level.
Authors suggest that these documents should be written
at the 8th grade level or lower since about 50% of the
US population reads at or below that level.
THE DOWNFALL OF NEWS MAGAZINES?
According to the April 2001 "General Internet User Survey"
from Content Intelligence, a division of Lyra Research, 24%
of internet users in the US have canceled subscriptions to
general news magazines since they began using the internet.
The study also found that some users are paying for online
content -- though most (8.3%) are doing so for "adult"
content, 5% say they pay for access to an industry-specific
site.
------
WANT MORE?
Ryanna’s has published over 45 business articles nationwide
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5. Motivational Tip For The Day
© 2001 Jan Tincher
Are you thinking *failure* thoughts?
Instead of thinking about what you can't do, can't have, can't
be, do this:
Every night before you go to sleep, ask this question: *What
can I accomplish tomorrow if I have the faith to tap my vast
potential?*
Watch your *failure* thoughts disappear. Watch your life
turn around.
------
Learn unique strategies and techniques for personal success
from Jan Tincher online at
http://www.TameYourBrain.com/subscribe.htm
How one man turned an unprofessional, home made
website into over $100,000 in profits last year and
how you can too! You can be up and running in
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------
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10. Contact Information
Elena Fawkner, Editor
A Home-Based Business Online
Contact By Email
http://www.ahbbo.com
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